


Heirlooms

by anachronist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen, Master of Death Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-26 15:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12560356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anachronist/pseuds/anachronist
Summary: The origin of a myth passed down through generations.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally part of another fic. The other bits of that weren't working out, but I liked this section of it.
> 
> Vaguely set towards the end of the Arcobaleno Trials arc.

The Master of Death and the Metal Craftsman talked in between working on the jars, about wave energy and magic, of ancestry and inheritance, of flames and magic bound in flesh, bone and blood.

“I hope I choose well when the time comes,” Harry said, handling Talbot a crystal phial heavy with his blood as they waited for the glass of the Flame Accelerators to cool.

“I’m certain you will,” Talbot replies, writing fluidly on a cord-bound ledger, the ivory dip pen pale against his tanned, weathered hand. ”These things work out in the end, like with the Vongola and Shimon lines. Like with your ancestor’s.”

“Their succession differs from mine now,” Harry, the last Peverell, pointed out wryly. “Wasn’t that the point of digging up that Rite of Inheritance bit?”

“It’s not so different,” Talbot gently insisted, checking if the ink was dry before getting started on the first of the vial’s three seals. “Just like how you were the one to prove yourself to the three items your ancestors left behind, only Tsuna and Enma were able to make the decisions needed to awaken in full the secrets of their blood. The ability to form a willing pact between the original line and a meritorious successor of sound mind and spirit - that was the main attraction for you, yes?”

The Master did not reply, and the Craftsman did not wait for a response to his reminder. After all, it was not their first time circling this topic.

Talbot hummed softly as he studied his work in the furnace’s light, with Sight that extended beyond physical blindness. Satisfied, he moved on to the next strip, and picked up the conversation. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the young Vongola considers something like this in the future. He’ll have to rework the Trials to suit the adaptive nature of the Vongola Gear.”

Harry sighed. He leaned back, hands clasped in his lap, and looked out the window. The clear, dark night brought out the moon’s brilliance, unhampered by the artificial glow of urban lighting. “You’re probably right,” he said after a while, idly tracing the knuckle of his ring finger, where the Stone had embedded itself, a mass of scarred skin serving as its setting. 

The Hallows, as possessive, willful objects of power were wont to do, had fused themselves into his very blood, bone, and sinew. As long as he had them, he could not serve as anyone's Guardian, his natural Lightning aspect rendered void - yet another detail of his life lost before he even knew it was a choice, and he was far too resigned and tired to feel bitter about it. 

(At least the next Master of Death would not end up like him - he sought out Talbot specifically for that purpose.)

He knew that the man meant to be his Sky suffered for it, unable to accept that in all possible futures, he would not be able to attain a Lightning Guardian through natural means. Not that they had gotten along in that future, the more his Sky’s boredom and idle amusement took on shades of blood lust and domination. Harry, it seemed, was doomed to be stuck with potential or actual megalomaniacs for the rest of his long life, one way or the other.

It was this world’s future Byakuran, the one Tsuna had stopped, that ultimately succeeded in killing him a scant few years after they graduated from university before establishing the Millefiore. 

Harry would never mention how this third acceptance of death as the Last Peverell played part in the fulfillment of an old promise: the final binding and unification of the Hallows to the Master of Death. The Hallows transcended normal reality, and Harry’s role as the Master of Death was absolute across parallel worlds - similar to how the Byakuran chosen by the Mare ring retained knowledge from his many counterparts. Those were secrets he’d take to his grave until his successor had need of them.

Yuni, who returned from non-existence thanks to some existential loophole Harry didn’t want to think about, invited him over to Japan a week ago to give them a chance to properly talk. Harry, even with all his reservations, couldn’t say no when he had already booked a flight to the country to visit Talbot - he knew the princess would track him down, and enlist Gamma’s aid to do so. He could only hope this younger Byakuran, whose sanity was no longer at risk now that the Mare rings were sealed, would be less of a headache to talk to once this problem with the Arcobaleno pacifiers was over. 

It was strange and more than a little annoying, how trinkets of legend caused problems for their wielders. 

“Can I ask you something about the past, Talbot?”

“Only if it can be mine to share, young Peverell.”

“What was the first Peverell actually like?”

Outside, the wind sighed gently, and the leaves rustled with it: a soft, tranquil moment in time.

“He loved his three sons dearly,” Talbot began, remembrance wrapped about his being like a cloak as he finished the third seal. “He hailed from the Continent, seeking to escape friend and foe alike lest his own barely controllable magic destroy them. For a while he lived in happiness with his family, but his peace would not last for his enemies hungered after his ageless power - already, they had killed his wife when they found his home, and his youngest had barely escaped.

“Desperate to end the matter before his sons could meet the same fate, he sealed most of his life force and magical gifts in three objects he normally carried with him - his own wand, an uncut gem from his late wife, and his invisibility cloak - and invited his hunters to duel him at the bridge in the forest next to the village. He succeeded in killing them, at the cost of his own life.

“It was by chance that the brothers found him before he breathed his last, and he bequeathed to them his dying wish.”

“And that was how you found them,” Harry surmised.

“That was where I granted the chance to fulfill their father’s desire,” agreed Talbot, older than the Earthlings who stoked the Flames of will and life, as he applied the three strips of paper on the crystal’s surface. "Not that the two elder brothers fully understood it, nor its price. You know the rest."

The matter was never spoken of again between the two.

When sunrise came, the Craftsman tucked the phial, now named _Apeiron_ , in the depths of his cloak, and he and Harry made their way to the park where Tsuna was set to lure Bermuda. Where the Skies of the Tri-Ni-Sette would congregate to break the cycle of the Arcobaleno and prevent the need for more human sacrifice.

It was the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one.


	2. Sidestory: Catching Up

“You almost died, you know, in the future.”

Harry stilled, the pads of his fingers a hair’s width from his teacup, and took care in keeping his expression neutral as he looked at Shoichi. As far as everyone knew, the Brit ended up in a water tank on life support, similar to how the Vendicare locked away their prisoners. Only Shoichi was privy to the details of the actual extraction. “Is that what you remember from this world?”

“Among others.” Shoichi gently massaged his belly as he drank his own tea, letting the warmth soothe his stomach ache. Conversations like this were anxiety-inducing and painful for the ginger-haired teen, even five years after having memories of that terrible future and the assortment of other worlds he ended up in. “You were usually hidden at the Italy base or somewhere he could keep a closer eye on you, until they moved the main operation to Namimori.”

Across him, the dark-haired teen said nothing, and merely sipped his matcha.

Shoichi cleared his throat. “In this world, I had to persuade Squalo-san to let me talk to Kikyo before the Varia shipped him overseas. Of all places, Byakuran buried your tank in a frozen lake far from Millefiore’s Hokkaido branch. The life support showed signs of tampering when we got there. It was difficult to get you out and I was afraid we didn’t get there on time.” The ginger-haired boy swallowed, digging his fingers in his waist to pull him through a really intense stomach cramp. “You - you still had a pulse. Barely there, but you had a pulse.”

Shoichi didn’t mention that Harry - both the present and future one - looked exactly the same where it counted. However, if his reclusive friend didn’t want to talk about that, it was fine. He knew the Brit kept a low profile for his own reasons and disliked being called out for the many oddities that happened to him.

He didn’t know if Harry was able to stave off Byakuran’s curiosity. Even if the Italian no longer had a cruel, exploitative edge, he still had the knack for getting under people’s skin while he pestered them with questions when he deemed something more than a passive interest. Harry’s physical appearance would definitely fall under that category, and Byakuran’s persistence matched up with Harry’s stubbornness.

“Ah.” The dark-haired teen looked down at his cup, no doubt wishing he’d have gotten black tea instead of matcha. The caffeine would have been better for this kind of conversation. Unfortunately, they’d have to make do with sugar, and he gently nudged the plate of sweets closer to Shoichi. “He only really needed me to stay away and not be awake until he was done destroying things.”

“He used to brag about wanting to see the shock on your face once he’d won. I’m still not fully sure why he did it to be honest - it’s overkill for a reaction to a couple of arguments back at uni.” Shoichi reached for one of the round yellow-colored candies, and paused. “The older me was sorry, by the way. For not noticing you disappeared sooner.”

“Not your fault.” Harry’s tone held an edge of sternness. “I wasn’t exactly in touch with anyone after we graduated and… well.” He huffed. “My best guess is that he saw something in one world or the other. Not that it matters now, when he can’t do that anymore.’

“Yeah.” Shoichi sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Do you know though, what made this world different?”

“Ah. That.” Harry tugged at the length of hair on the right side of his face, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Found out that someone he was trying to kill was actually a cousin of mine - from a disowned branch of my father’s side, several times removed. Very distant, but still showed signs of sharing a few family… traits.”

Shoichi closed his eyes. It wasn’t hard to figure out what happened next - Harry would go to great lengths to keep those he cared for safe, especially if he thought this mysterious relative was the agreeable sort. “Well? Who is it?”

The resulting grin on Harry’s face was a strange mix of amusement, embarrassment, and pride. “Skull. Turns out almost getting killed on a yearly basis is a shared experience.”

Shoichi ran a hand down his face. Of _course_ Harry’s cousin just had to be one of the ex-Arcobaleno. He’d heard that the Cloud eluded capture before Byakuran set Glo Xinia on his trail.

“Could’ve told me when you dropped off your friend’s research notes on containment fields before disappearing,” he finally said with a resigned shake of his head. “Tell me Skull knows, at least?”

It was only later that Shoichi realized something that put him through another round of miserable cramping. Skull only survived his crazy antics by using his Cloud flames to propagate undamaged cells, speeding up his recovery. Harry, on the other hand, was an _inactive Lightning_.

So how was it that Shoichi found him in a defective tank without signs of hypothermia and frostbite?

**Author's Note:**

> Apeiron = unlimited, boundless, infinite, indefinite.
> 
> Feedback is very much appreciated <3


End file.
